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Parrot helps ICT start-ups all over Africa

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London, 03 May 2018 - Agriculture is a key, fast-growing industry in Africa – and Parrot, the leading European drone group, is offering business solutions, covering drones and software, to professionals in this business sector.

Parrot-AIRINOV teamed up with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), created by the European Union, to help tech start-ups develop precision agriculture all over the African continent, enabling farmers to improve their ROI while respecting the environment.

There is a general consensus that smallholder farming needs to become more productive, more sustainable and more profitable. Drone-based systems and services can contribute towards these goals by bringing some of the tools of precision agriculture to producers, which include large and medium-scale holdings and associations of small-scale farmers growing the same crop in contiguous areas.

Typically, drone services are provided by entrepreneurs who invest in the equipment, acquire the skills to use it, conduct or sub-contract data analysis, interpret the findings and advise their customers.

Drones can help increase the return-on-investment (ROI) and create new knowledge-intensive employment opportunities in rural areas, offering educated rural youth an alternative to migration.

Recognising the opportunities provided by drones, in 2016 CTA partnered with Parrot-AIRINOV to train and equip ICT start-ups in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and a government institution in Jamaica in acquiring the capacity to deliver drone-based services.

With the assistance of Parrot-AIRINOV, CTA organised a series of activities including training on the operation of drones and mounted multispectral sensors, understanding of safety and privacy principles and regulations, management and processing of remote sensed data, development of business plans and networking opportunities. In addition, CTA provided some financial support for the acquisition of necessary equipment. The training events took place in Paris in March and November 2017.

Thanks to the presence of a competent and entrepreneurial UAS operator in Rwanda (Charis Unmanned Aerial Services), a very enabling environment (strong government support to digital innovations) and the possibility of upscaling UAS service operations in Eastern Africa, CTA and Parrot-AIRINOV pooled resources and supported a project aimed at calibrating of the diagnostic model for nitrogen fertilization on wheat in Rwanda.

On 26 January 2018, by issuing Decision EX.CL/Dec. 986-1007 (XXXII), the Executive Council of the African Union (AU), requested the AU and Member States to harness drones for agriculture as a selected emerging technology of relevance for the development of the African continent. In line with this continent-wide policy recommendation, CTA decided to support an increase in the number of supported drone operators and countries covered across Africa.

In this context, CTA has launched a 2018-2019 project focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa, known as “Transforming African agriculture: Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground”. Parrot partnered in the project by offering CTA-supported drone operators the opportunity to purchase equipment (Parrot Disco-Pro Ag or Parrot Bluegrass) at discounted rates.

Over a two-year time span, the “Eyes in the Sky” Project is meant to result in approximately 30 established business-oriented and sustainable African drone service providers, most run by young entrepreneurs in African countries where enabling legislation is in place. The enterprises will offer a range of drone-based advisory services including real-time advice to farmers.

About ParrotFounded in 1994 by Henri Seydoux, Parrot is today the leading European group in the fast-growing industry of drones. Visionary, at the forefront of innovation, Parrot is a real ‘End to End’ drone group from hardware and software to services. Parrot, the world’s number 2 of the consumer drone market, designs drones known for their high performance and ease of use. Parrot is also offering business solutions, covering drones, software and services mainly focusing on 3 major verticals: (i) Agriculture, (ii) 3D Mapping, Surveying and Inspection and (iii) Public safety. The Parrot Group designs and engineers its products in Europe, mainly in France and Switzerland. It currently employs 600 people worldwide and makes the majority of its sales outside of France. Parrot, headquartered in Paris, has been listed since 2006 on Euronext Paris (FR0004038263 - PARRO). For more information: www.parrot.com